Sounds of the Season: The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection
Sounds of the Season: The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection is the first extended play released by American country recording artist Taylor Swift. The EP was first released on October 14, 2007 by Big Machine Records exclusively to Target stores in the United States and online; it was originally a limited release for the 2007 holiday season but re-released in October 2009. Sounds of the Season: The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection features cover versions of holiday songs and two original tracks written by Swift, "Christmases When You Were Mine" and "Christmas Must Be Something More", all of which have a country pop sound. The EP was a commercial success, peaking at number twenty on the ''Billboard'' 200 and at number fourteen on Top Holiday Albums. Songs from Sounds of the Season: The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection have been performed at several venues. Background Sounds of the Season: The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection is holiday music with a country pop inclination. }|work=Allmusic|publisher=Macrovision Corporation|accessdate=January 22, 2010}} The EP is mainly composed of cover versions of holiday hits and Christmas carols: "Last Christmas" (1984), originally performed by Wham!, "Santa Baby" (1953), originally performed by Eartha Kitt, "Silent Night" (1819), and "White Christmas" (1942), originally performed by Bing Crosby. Sounds of the Season: The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection features two original songs, "Christmases When You Were Mine" and "Christmas Must Be Something More", which were co-written and written by Swift, respectively. For the original release of Sounds of the Season: The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection, Swift partnered with the American retail company Target; it was made available as an exclusive limited release at Target stores in the United States and online, at Target.com. Sounds of the Season: The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection's cover art is from Swift's music video for "Teardrops on My Guitar" (2007). On October 6, 2009, the EP was re-released by Target and made available as a digital download on the iTunes Store, both making minor adjustments to its cover art and removing "Sounds of the Seasons", leaving it as The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection. Reception Critical reception The EP received generally positive critical reception. Craig Shelburne of CMT said, "Thanks to this teen star, a new generation of sensitive girls may discover the melancholy but oh-so-melodic 'Last Christmas'. She also includes two original holiday songs." Chart performance On the week ending December 8, 2007, Sounds of the Season: The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection debuted at number eighty-eight on the ''Billboard'' 200. The following week, the EP rose to a new peak at number forty-six on the Billboard 200. Following its 2009 re-release, Sounds of the Season: The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection re-entered the Billboard 200 at number twenty, its current peak, and extended its run on the chart to twenty-four weeks. For the 2007 holiday season, the EP peaked at number eighteen on Top Country Albums and at number twenty-two on Top Holiday Albums, and for the 2009 holiday season, it peaked at number fourteen on both Top Country Albums and Top Holiday Albums. Promotion Swift first performed a song from Sounds of the Season: The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection, "Silent Night", on November 28, 2007 in New York City, at the Rockefeller Center, which was broadcast by The Today Show; Swift dressed in a long black dress and a white winter coat and performed while playing a rhinestoned acoustic guitar. She then performed "Christmases When You Were Mine" on November 29, 2007 in St. Charles, Missouri, at the Family Arena, as part of her set for WIL's Jinglefest 2007, and "Santa Baby" in Bloomington, Minnesota, at the Mall of America on December 8, 2007. Swift appeared on The Today Show again on Christmas Day of 2007, performing "Christmases When You Were Mine" and "Silent Night". "Last Christmas", "Christmases When You Were Mine", "Santa Baby", "Silent Night", and "White Christmas" received airplay on several country radio stations and therefore each charted on Billboard's Hot Country Songs: "Last Christmas" peaked at number twenty-eight, "Christmases When You Were Mine" peaked at number forty-eight, "Santa Baby" peaked at number forty-three, "Silent Night" peaked at number fifty-four, and "White Christmas" peaked at number fifty-nine. Track listing Standard edition Charts Personnel *Scott Borchetta – executive producer *Nathan Chapman – producer *Taylor Swift – lead vocals References External links *The official website of Taylor Swift Category:2007 EPs Category:Big Machine Records albums Category:Christmas albums Category:Exclusive release albums Category:Taylor Swift albums fr:Sounds of the Season: The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection sw:Sounds of the Season: The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection pl:Sounds of the Season: The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection pt:Sounds of the Season: The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection sv:Sounds of the Season: The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection tr:Sounds of the Season: The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection uk:Sounds of the Season: The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection